National Pumpkin Day

I thought I was done with the pumpkin related posts.  I think every post from October has involved them.  You are probably thinking, "enough with the pumpkins, lady!"  BUT...Justin informed me, and I saw elsewhere, that yesterday was National Pumpkin Day.  I don't know who came up with that but I guess it's our kind of day.  Also, we carved pumpkins on Tuesday night.  We haven't done it since Ben was a baby and we lived in our old house.  Here are a few pictures of that cute evening. 



I always thought it was funny how he was straining to get at the pumpkin...and probably the knife as well. 



Which baby is it?  The only way to tell is by the clean and pristine condition of the high chair!



And there is that blasted carving knife...we looked everywhere for the carving kit and we couldn't find it anywhere.  Sigh. 

Fast forward four years:  The scene is a much more chaotic and messy and cluttered house that we just can't seem to stay on top of, where three kids regularly destroy all progress we make.  To clear the table, we had to chisel off playdoh, sweep away legos, remove various drinking vessels and pick up all those green plastic wine glasses from the floor (thanks Milo!). 

You might be wondering if those are plastic Easter eggs in front of Tessa.  Yes, they are, and they are filled with various "treasures" that she carries around with her. 

Milo was restrained in the high chair, which is coated in an impermeable grime.  We gave up on the cute brown ABC's cover long ago. 

He has is baseball jammies on and just wants to settle down and watch the World Series (yeah right). 

Ben designed the pumpkin on the left based on the bean filled stuffed one we have as a decoration.  It's on the floor 90% of the time but whatev...it's for the kids anyway, right?  Tessa chose the shapes of the eyes and nose.  She likes diamonds. 

The matches and candle portion was a bit scary but I think they understand not to touch now.  There are many fancy templates for carving pumpkins but I think the standard look is just as effective and fun. 

We also roasted seeds this year.  I haven't done this in years.  I think the last time I roasted seeds was ten years ago in my law school apartment.  We had an acorn squash a few nights ago and when I was looking for recipes a commenter online said she also roasted the seeds so I tried it and they were pretty good even without any seasoning.  The kids loved them too and have been asking me to make seeds again (like it's so easy!) so I was excited about this.  Justin did the gross part of cleaning the slime while I was sawing away at the jack-o-lanterns. 

I seasoned half with some greek seasoning I bought at a home party the other half with traditional Lowry's.  This picture was taken after they soaked overnight in salt water.  That is a key step and some recipes say to boil them because it cooks the inner seed and makes them crunchier. I didn't do it and they are still pretty crispy. They are so delicious.  I almost want to hide them from the kids so I can have all of this rare once a year treat for myself.  Maybe we can hollow out a few more pumpkins and make more after Halloween.  We have enough! 

So, enough about pumpkins.  I promise.  There might be a few in the background of our Halloween pictures next week but I promise not to talk about them!

Ben has his school Halloween party this morning.  I assembled the same exact treat I did last year, which is tootsie roll pops covered in tissue to look like ghosts.  It's an old craft from my childhood and those pops are allergy safe so its a win all around! 

He was excited to wear his police officer costume.  He's been talking about it for months.  He was disappointed I wouldn't let him take his handcuffs because they aren't supposed to bring weapons and I thought handcuffs might cross the line and cause problems or distraction.  He got over it quick and I'm sure he will forget all about it once he starts playing with his buddies.  I sure wish some Reece's peanut butter cups would sneak around the allergen rules but at least there will be some Kit Kats that I can sneak and possibly some gummies. 

It was warm out last night so the kids played outside for awhile and I plopped Milo in the favorite car since I didn't put his shoes on.  He loved it just like they all do. 

He seemed to be almost TOO content...I soon realized why.  The kids like to fill the cup holder with the sand that builds up in the gutter and in the man holes and he was eating it.  Hmmmmm...great.